 Additionally, during the construction of the "Fremantle" class, "Townsville" was the designated buddy ship for vessels completing sea trials and initial working up.On 25 December 1981, "Townsville" was called on to pursue the Taiwanese fishing vessel "Yuan Tsun".The ship, which had been detained in Trinity Inlet after being caught illegally fishing in Australian waters, took the opportunity to escape while most military and law-enforcement personnel were on leave for the Christmas holiday.